10-25-2006, 11:55 PM
Atyoga, Rajesh,
Thanks for your responses.
This book throws some more light:
The Imperial Gazetteer of India 1887, By Sir William Wilson Hunter
http://books.google.com/books?vid=OCLC0283...=PA261&as_brr=1
Looks like (at least) two possibilities:
<b>a) </b>Since Saraswati had such an impact in Vedic times, after the river disappeared, people may have kept the names of many other rivers as Saraswati. For example the river Arghand-Ab is mentioned as Arakhotus by Herodotus, and was called 'Harakhaiti' by Pakhtuns of his times, which is apbhransha of 'Saraswati'. http://books.google.com/books?vid=0ZAchP3u...-PA109&as_brr=1
Like wise, another river in Assam, is also having same name, so is a river in Gujarat.
<b>b) </b>Yamuna captured the flow from Saraswati and brought it to Ganga in Prayag as mentioned by Atyoga. Indeed, as described in Bhagvatam, Yamuna was probably not a very mighty river (Vasudev was able to cross it by walking through it's bed). It may have become mighty as it is today by capturing the sources of Sarswati... this has some details : http://www.sulekha.com/blogs/blogdisplay...cid=100956
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->The reasons for this drying up are: river capture and aandhi (sandstorms).
Yamuna (erstwhile Chambal) which is a tributary of the Ganga, captured the Saraswati source at Paontasaheb (where there is a famous Sikh shrine in Punjab); thus the popular belief of Sangam at Prayag is based on groundtruth: the Yamuna captured Saraswati and took her to join Ganga at Prayag, near Allahabad. Thus, due to river capture, Saraswati was deprived of the perennial source of molten glaciers from the Himalayas. The aandhi phenomenon also accounted for the submergence of the river bed by sandstorms. As the river started drying-up, people starting migrating eastwards towards the Ganga-Yamuna doab (e.g. Alamgirpur and Kunal) and southwards towards the Godavari river, traversing the Arabian sea-coast. (Daimabad is a cognate archaeological site located on the banks of Pravara river which is a tributary of the Godavari river, near Nasik).
Late Vedic Period: Tectonic movements pushed up the Aravali hills, in northern Rajasthan. This changed the drainage pattern of the Northwest drastically. Saraswati lost her major tributaries, Yamuna and Sutlej. Sutlej turned west and joined Beas-Sindhu system, and Yamuna started migrating east to join Ganga.
During Mahabharat times: The volume of water flowing down the Saraswati had reduced. The waters of Saraswati did not make it upto the sea. Yamuna at this time, partly flowed westwards to meet Saraswati and partly flowed eastwards to meet Ganga.
At the time of Krishna's birth Yamuna was not as mighty as it is today. Hence it must have been possible for Vasudev to cross the river, with the new born Krishna in his arms.
It is described in Mahabharat, that Balaram travelled along the almost dry banks of Saraswati, and then along the banks of Yamuna, from Prabhas (Somnath) to Mathura.
After Mahabharat times: Yamuna now pirated Saraswati's sources and flowed into Ganga. Because Yamuna brought the waters of Saraswati to Ganga, the Sagam is called as the Triveni Sangam of Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati. Ganga now took the importance of Saraswati and the title of goddess.
Today, Ghaggar; a puny seasonal river, occupies some parts of Saraswati's dry beds. The dry vast bed called the Hakra-Nara channels lie in the western Rajasthan.
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Thanks for your responses.
This book throws some more light:
The Imperial Gazetteer of India 1887, By Sir William Wilson Hunter
http://books.google.com/books?vid=OCLC0283...=PA261&as_brr=1
Looks like (at least) two possibilities:
<b>a) </b>Since Saraswati had such an impact in Vedic times, after the river disappeared, people may have kept the names of many other rivers as Saraswati. For example the river Arghand-Ab is mentioned as Arakhotus by Herodotus, and was called 'Harakhaiti' by Pakhtuns of his times, which is apbhransha of 'Saraswati'. http://books.google.com/books?vid=0ZAchP3u...-PA109&as_brr=1
Like wise, another river in Assam, is also having same name, so is a river in Gujarat.
<b>b) </b>Yamuna captured the flow from Saraswati and brought it to Ganga in Prayag as mentioned by Atyoga. Indeed, as described in Bhagvatam, Yamuna was probably not a very mighty river (Vasudev was able to cross it by walking through it's bed). It may have become mighty as it is today by capturing the sources of Sarswati... this has some details : http://www.sulekha.com/blogs/blogdisplay...cid=100956
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->The reasons for this drying up are: river capture and aandhi (sandstorms).
Yamuna (erstwhile Chambal) which is a tributary of the Ganga, captured the Saraswati source at Paontasaheb (where there is a famous Sikh shrine in Punjab); thus the popular belief of Sangam at Prayag is based on groundtruth: the Yamuna captured Saraswati and took her to join Ganga at Prayag, near Allahabad. Thus, due to river capture, Saraswati was deprived of the perennial source of molten glaciers from the Himalayas. The aandhi phenomenon also accounted for the submergence of the river bed by sandstorms. As the river started drying-up, people starting migrating eastwards towards the Ganga-Yamuna doab (e.g. Alamgirpur and Kunal) and southwards towards the Godavari river, traversing the Arabian sea-coast. (Daimabad is a cognate archaeological site located on the banks of Pravara river which is a tributary of the Godavari river, near Nasik).
Late Vedic Period: Tectonic movements pushed up the Aravali hills, in northern Rajasthan. This changed the drainage pattern of the Northwest drastically. Saraswati lost her major tributaries, Yamuna and Sutlej. Sutlej turned west and joined Beas-Sindhu system, and Yamuna started migrating east to join Ganga.
During Mahabharat times: The volume of water flowing down the Saraswati had reduced. The waters of Saraswati did not make it upto the sea. Yamuna at this time, partly flowed westwards to meet Saraswati and partly flowed eastwards to meet Ganga.
At the time of Krishna's birth Yamuna was not as mighty as it is today. Hence it must have been possible for Vasudev to cross the river, with the new born Krishna in his arms.
It is described in Mahabharat, that Balaram travelled along the almost dry banks of Saraswati, and then along the banks of Yamuna, from Prabhas (Somnath) to Mathura.
After Mahabharat times: Yamuna now pirated Saraswati's sources and flowed into Ganga. Because Yamuna brought the waters of Saraswati to Ganga, the Sagam is called as the Triveni Sangam of Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati. Ganga now took the importance of Saraswati and the title of goddess.
Today, Ghaggar; a puny seasonal river, occupies some parts of Saraswati's dry beds. The dry vast bed called the Hakra-Nara channels lie in the western Rajasthan.
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->